The Many Uses of Gold

The Many Uses of Gold (Slideshow): Gold’s qualities make it one of the most coveted metals in the world. Not only can it be beautifully shaped and sculpted, the yellow metal conducts electricity and does not tarnish. These qualities make it the metal of choice for a wide variety of industries. Let’s take a look at some industrial, medical and technological uses of gold, some of which are truly amazing.

Dentistry: Gold has been used in dentistry for nearly 3,000 years. In 1530 a dentistry book entitled Artzney Buchlein was published suggesting that cavities and rotten teeth be filled with gold leaf. Dentists are still using gold hundreds of years later for fillings, crowns, bridges and orthodontic appliances since the yellow metal is bio-compatible.

Conducting: Gold acts as a reliable conductor, allowing for the rapid and accurate transmission of digital data from one device to another since gold will not corrode. In fact, only silver and copper are better conductors of electricity.

Electronics: A small amount of gold can be found in almost every electronic device such as phones, calculators and computers. According to the World Gold Council, a single mobile device contains up to 50 milligrams of gold. That’s a tiny amount, but nearly 1 billion cell phones are produced each year. With a gold value of about 50 cents in each phone, that adds up to $500 million dollars in gold each year!

Medicine: The earliest medical use of gold can be traced back to China in 2500 BC. Chinese physicians used pure gold to treat furuncles, smallpox, skin ulcers and to remove mercury from skin and flesh, according to GoldBulletin. Today the metal is primarily used to treat patients with arthritis. Gold salts are used to reduce swelling, bone damage and to relieve joint pain and stiffness.

Gold Leaf: Gold is highly malleable and flexible, so much so that it can be beaten into thin sheets, only a few millionths of an inch thick. These sheets, known as gold leaf, are displayed on buildings throughout the world, such as St. Michael’s Cathedral in Kiev, Ukraine and many other temples across the globe.

Jewelry: Gold has always had a powerful allure and remains a popular gift in the form of jewelry. Global gold demand was at 648 metric tons in 2017, according to the World Gold Council. Demand for gold jewelry spikes around September during the Indian wedding season and in December before Chinese New Year celebrations, a pattern we call the Love Trade.

Aerospace: It’s truly a gold universe. Space vehicles are fitted with gold-coated polyester film to reflect infrared radiation and to help stabilize core temperatures, says Geology.com. Without gold, darker colored parts of spacecraft would absorb significant amounts of hat. Additionally, astronauts’ helmets are covered by a visor that is coated with a thin layer of gold to filter out the sun’s harmful rays, according to NASA.

Currency: Gold is one of the only currencies that has an intrinsic value. The history of gold as a currency dates back over 6,000 years ago when transactions were completed using pieces of gold and later minted gold coins. Although no longer used in most transactions, most nations hold a large amount of gold bullion in their vaults and gold coins remain a popular way to own gold for investment purposes.

One final use of gold: a store of value and safe haven during times of inflation. A portfolio weighting in gold can at times help investors minimize losses in other asset classes during times of high inflation.